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| Title: "Stateless Bidun PSA 1" (English/Arabic) |
| Description: This Public Service Announcement (PSA) calls attention to the plight of the "stateless" people in Kuwait, who are called "biduns", literally translated as "without". Those who are "without" citizenship do not enjoy the same rights and privileges as those of legal status. They are disallowed access to free health care, dismissed from public sector employment, their children are barred from public schools, and denied documents such as birth, marriage or death certificates, as well as driver's licenses. Many biduns are natives of Kuwait who simply failed to recognize the importance of registering as citizens after Kuwait redrew its borders with neighboring countries, as late as 1991 in the case of Iraq. Many failed to complete this step owing to a traditional nomadic way of life in border areas.
The PSA features five bidun men poised silently in a remote desert landscape, their attention focused on the camera. One at a time, they turn and walk off camera, and their bodies melt into the landscape like ghosts. Their voices, echo hauntingly, with the statements, "I am without healthcare.", "I am without a passport.", "I am without an education.", "I am without a job." The final image is of the face of the last man, as he says, "Don't leave us without a future." The logo of Kuwait Human Rights Society appears with the fact- "In Kuwait, there are almost 100,000 individuals 'without' nationality who are facing human rights violations."
First-time director, Noorah Hadeed, is a 27-year old volunteer event coordinator for the Kuwait Society for Human Rights. She graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Architecture from R.I.S.D. in 2003. She was assisted by another KSHR volunteer, Ms. Muna Al-Hamer.
Music and sound design provided by Nabeel Bahy (of Kuwait)
Background:
This video was produced locally in Kuwait City, Kuwait as part of a media workshop, entitled "Media, Activism and Democracy," led by Barefoot Workshops in partnership with The Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). Thirteen participants from seven organizations, mostly women and youth, learned how to write, shoot, produce and edit, thirty-second noncommercial videos (Public Service Announcements), to raise awareness about social issues. The goal of the workshops was to increase discussion, debate and civic participation in the Middle East. The PSAs are available in Arabic and English to broadcasters and other organizations that wish to distribute them "rights-free" on television and/or the Internet.
See more PSAs at www.barefootworkshops.org
Contacts: Chandler Griffin & Alison Fast (chandler@barefootworkshops.org) |
| Tags: Announcement, Arabic, Barefoot, bidun, East, human, Kuwait, MEPI, Middle, PSA, Public, rights, Service, stateless, Workshops |
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